University of Michigan-Flint

Faculty Name:  C. Peeth Kartha

Department:  School of Management

Campus Address:  3114 WSW

Email:  cpk@umflint.edu

Phone:  810-762-3271

Project Description:  ISO9000 is a series of internationally accepted guidelines as to how companies should set up their quality assurance systems. Focusing on procedures, controls and documentation, the standard is designed to help a company identify mistakes, streamline its operations and be able to guarantee a constant level of quality. It is rapidly becoming to be a de facto requirement for doing business in many industries and countries.

The certification process requires a significant investment of both human as well as financial resources of the organization. There have been questions raised as to the worthiness of making such investments by organizations for obtaining certification. This study is designed to compare the effectiveness of the certification process on several factors that represent organizational effectiveness.

A survey questionnaire was developed to assess the impact of certification on a number of quality-related factors such as customer satisfaction, productivity and profitability. The questionnaire was designed to measure the differences between ISO certified and non-certified companies in these areas. An e-survey was developed and sent to 500 companies in the US, China and India. The study will compare the impact of certification between the various countries.

Semesters Desired:  Fall 2011 AND Winter 2012

GSRA Position Description:  (1) Statistical analysis using SPSS of data received.

 (2) Help with implementation of e-surveys including developing  sampling frames for new surveys.

Specific Day/Time Requirements:  Flexible

Special Requirements:  Knowledge of conducting e-surveys, expertise in computer data manipulation using SPSS

Graduate Students in These Programs May Apply:  Business Administration (MBA); Computer Science and Information Systems (MS)